The influence of thermoplastic interleaving on the fracture toughness of laminated composites

Abstract

Polymer based fiber reinforced composites have opened a new scientific and technical research field, and a new commercial market. A lot of efforts have been contributed to the improvement and the increase in structural damage tolerance. Among many techniques, the interleaving method has received more attention in recent years. It has been found that the low interlaminar fracture toughness of laminated composites can be improved by the addition of interleaves. There is no serial information, however, available on the interlaminar shear properties. For these reasons, the present research has been focused on the influence of the thermoplastic interleaving on the fracture toughness and the interlaminar shear strength of laminated glass-epoxy composites.